This image released by Universal Pictures shows Olivia O'Neill in a scene from "The Exorcist: Believer."
Facing competition from no major new releases, the latest resurrection of the demonic franchise brought in $27.2 million in North America in its opening weekend for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, according to studio estimates Sunday. That was more than the weekend take of the next three films combined. But while it nearly earned back its reported budget of $30 million in just a few days, the take for “The Exorcist: Believer” was underwhelming after the two companies paid $400 million in 2021 for the rights to a new trilogy.,” was a distant second, with $11.8 million, and has earned $38.9 million after two weekends for Paramount Pictures. Another horror sequel, “Saw X,” was third for Lionsgate Films, with $8.
The new “Exorcist” was released just shy of the 50th anniversary of the original horror classic, and comes just two months after the death of the original film's director,The film got poor reviews — managing a critics score of just 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jake Coyle of The Associated Press was more charitable than most in his , giving it two stars out of four for its lead performances and sure-handed direction but saying it “never manages anything like the deep terror of the original.
The weekend finally saw “Barbie” fall from the box office top 10 for the first time since its July 21 release, after well over $600 million in domestic earnings and more than $1.3 billion globally.Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.Box office: 'Nun 2' and 'A Haunting in Venice' virtually tie for No.